Expelled Left leader warns CPM

Agartala, July 7: Expelled CPM leader and former Bengal revenue minister Abdur Razzak Molla predicted the CPM’s ouster from power in Tripura when there will be emergence of an alternative force.

“The CPM has nothing new to offer, its prospects at the national level is zero, zero and zero and it will not be able to revive its fortunes in Bengal,” Molla said.

He arrived here yesterday to address a seminar organised by an NGO.

Tracing the CPM’s decline to the party’s “backdated and obsolete policies”, Molla said Marxists in Bengal had gained strength with land reform movements reflected in surplus land redistribution, registration of rights of share croppers and protection of rights of agricultural labourers.

“But Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and Nirupam Sen had initiated a suicidal land acquisition policy for rapid industrialisation in the state by directly encroaching on the rights of small and marginal farmers, share croppers and agricultural labourers. This alienated a large section of voters from the CPM. The situation worsened because of the alienation of the minorities that formed the backbone of the CPM’s support base in rural Bengal,” Molla said.

Taking a dig at Bhattcharjee he said the former chief minister felt “glorified” after reaching a deal with multinational giant Salim Group in Indonesia.

Molla said the CPM in Bengal had been taken over by contractors, mafia, touts and power brokers.

“This party cannot survive in the way it has been moving ahead. There has to be a thorough overhaul of the party, including its programmes and policies; otherwise the present generation of young voters will never accept the CPM as a viable alternative.”